Nauru's chief justice, who has been barred from the country for the past month, says he accepts that his job has gone and he wants to help in the selection of a replacement.
Geoffrey Eames had his visa cancelled last month - one of a series of controversial moves by the Nauru government.
It also deported the resident magistrate and other expatriate officials.
Mr Eames says he hates to accept that his standing up for the rule of law will cost him his job but he says given the relationship with the Nauru government, his position appears untenable.
He says it is vital Nauru has a working judiciary and the best thing he can do now is help ensure there is a transparent process in place for the employment of a new chief justice.
"If I can be of some help in producing that outcome, well, I will think that I have done the right thing by the people of Nauru, but there is a limit to what I can do now. I am in Melbourne, I am not going to be back in Nauru and I have to resign myself to that reality."
Geoffrey Eames